Chapter 32
I heard that on the western front, elves had practically massacred the allied forces in the forest.
Their exploits must have been so impressive that among humans, the notion of elves being forest-dwelling creatures had taken root as common knowledge.
However, contrary to this perception, elves in the Demon Realm don't actually live in forests, nor are they particularly close to them.
This isn't just about elves—all powerful races live on the scarce fertile lands, not in remote places like forests.
Forest-dwelling races aren't high-ranking demons like elves, but rather lower races like goblins and orcs that everyone looks down on.
The forests of the Demon Realm are danger zones like the El Berg Mountains, where magical beasts could pop out at any moment.
To be fair, other places aren't much different, but the frequency in forests and wastelands is vastly different.
Any race with a shred of sense wouldn't think of raising children in such dangerous places.
Naturally, forests became the domain of lower races like goblins and orcs.
This logic hadn't changed in the human world.
Only the ostracized races had changed.
"Oh..."
Viscount David must have been excited to meet what seemed like the epitome of elves for the first time.
Even though they were demons, I could understand his feelings. After all, he probably never thought he'd set foot in another race's territory in his lifetime.
But what unfolded before his eyes wasn't some scene out of a fairy tale.
To put it bluntly, the elves' village was ordinary.
Like a typical mountain village, they had built wooden huts, raised slightly off the ground on stilts, probably to avoid insects and snakes.
Just an ordinary, slightly larger mountain village.
It didn't even take a full minute for his adventurous spirit to fizzle out.
"Let's go inside."
The house we were led to was a bit larger and more charming than the others.
Given the area, it probably wasn't a room for entertaining guests. The fact that she let us in so casually suggested it might be her personal room.
"...You said you came for exchange, right?"
"Yes. Whether we end up killing the Mountain God or submitting to it, that intention won't change."
"...I see."
Though the talk of killing the Mountain God seemed to irk her, Pina just nodded, unable to find any logical flaws or rebuttals.
"We're receiving support from outside. It wouldn't be a bad thing for you to engage in exchange with us."
"Like this iron, you mean?"
"Yes. So, could you tell me how this village is structured?"
"By structure, you mean..."
Honestly, I wasn't sure how the village's governing body was organized.
Was the group in charge of rituals managing the entire village, or were roles divided with each focusing on their responsibilities?
After I explained this in a bit more detail, Pina nodded and said:
"We have a leader for the hunting group that hunts magical beasts, and a leader for the gathering group that collects mushrooms and wild vegetables from the mountains."
They don't involve themselves in politics.
However, since they're in charge of the village's food supply, they seem to wield considerable power.
Well, even if it's considerable, it's practically useless since they never have to use that power.
"I'm the leader of the ritual group, which is in charge of ceremonies. Besides rituals, we also handle things like construction and setting village policies."
"...I see. Then, could we meet with the leaders of the hunting and gathering groups?"
"The reason being...?"
"Actually, we're having some food shortage issues, so we'd like to get their opinions on that."
"Didn't you say you were receiving support?"
"Food is the most precious commodity outside right now. With the war against the Demon King's army dragging on for over a decade, there's a shortage of manpower everywhere, leading to scarcity."
"Demon King's army?"
There was no particular need to hide it, and since it was true, I explained the situation honestly.
After hearing the whole story, Pina asked us with a slightly worried expression:
"...So you're saying even more people might flood in?"
"That... I can't say it won't happen, but it's unlikely under normal circumstances."
I came to the El Berg Mountains by choice, but for refugees, coming here wasn't an easy decision.
It's like jumping from the frying pan into the fire, or in this case, from bandits into magical beast lairs.
That's literally what happened, so refugees finding their way here wouldn't be very common.
"If we could receive support from outside—"
"Miss Pina?"
Pina reacted to the word "outside."
More precisely, she seemed to have a thought when she heard the word "support," but she never shared it with us.
"...I'm sorry. I got lost in thought for a moment. Anyway, if you want to meet the hunting group, why don't you come with me now?"
"Right now?"
"They'll be leaving soon, so if we don't meet now, it'll have to wait until nightfall."
By the way, the gathering group had already left, so we couldn't meet them until nightfall.
Since we didn't need to meet everyone at once, we settled for meeting the hunting group for now.
Their faces were very familiar—some I remembered seeing collapsed in last night's memory, others had aimed arrows at us at the entrance.
It seemed they guarded the village when not out hunting.
Well, it made sense not to have a separate security force when there were no external threats.
In such a small village, there probably weren't complex crimes like fraud, and even if a murder occurred, it could be solved quickly, so the ritual group could probably handle it.
"...Priestess. What's this about?"
"These guests requested to meet the leader, so I brought them here."
So she's called Priestess inside, huh?
Thinking this, I glanced at him sideways, noticing his gaze towards us wasn't particularly friendly.
It was understandable, given how one would treat outsiders who could become enemies at any time.
After all, some idiot had suggested beating up the elves along with the Mountain God, so I couldn't really argue with those looks.
"These people have been very friendly towards us. So please, make sure not to offend them."
However, Pina seemed to think this wasn't good and immediately cautioned him.
"...Don't worry."
Although the hunting group leader was much older than Pina, perhaps due to her position as priestess, he could only nod obediently to her words.
It felt like I'd just witnessed firsthand how the power structure in this village was composed.
"So... what business do you have?"
"Well, actually..."
I briefly explained our purpose for coming here.
That we were short on food and needed information about the ecosystem and magical beasts to overcome this.
When I mentioned needing food for thirty thousand people, the leader's eyes, which had been full of wariness, began to show a different kind of caution.
"Let me tell you upfront, even if you catch all the magical beasts in this area, it won't be enough to feed 30,000 people."
That was indeed true, and I could manage immediate food needs with my magic anyway, so I hadn't planned on that.
Instead, I was thinking of modifying the magical beasts here to domesticate them as livestock.
It would take time for them to breed, but I'd done it a few times before, so it didn't seem too difficult.
"You're going to turn magical beasts into livestock?"
The leader and Pina looked at me like I was crazy.
Only David nodded, his face showing that he wasn't particularly surprised anymore.
The elves insisted it was impossible, but in the Demon Realm, it wasn't such a rare case.
Since I already had the data in my head, if I had the materials, I could succeed after a few trials and errors.
"There's no harm in trying. If it succeeds, I'll distribute some to you as well."
"...That's kind of you."
In a way, this could be interpreted as a provocation, suggesting I'd make his position useless, but the leader didn't seem offended at all.
Rather, he seemed to harbor some hope that such a day might really come.
"...You asked for a guide through the forest, right? Priestess, is it okay if we show them that as well?"
"Yes, if these people see it directly, they might believe in the Mountain God's existence."
"That?"
As Viscount David tilted his head, the leader vaguely continued:
"Sorry, but I'm not good with words. You'll understand when you see it, so let's get going."
We discovered "that" about an hour after climbing the mountain path with the hunting group leaders.
What the elves called "that" was a kind of totem carved with a fierce human face.
It looked like the kind of thing shamans usually use to imbue land with magic, and this totem also seemed to have some sort of magic bestowed upon it.
"Could you explain what this is?"
"It's the Mountain God's blessing. This totem is imbued with the Mountain God's power. That's why dangerous magical beasts don't dare approach this area."
"...What if they try to approach?"
"They'd taste the Mountain God's wrath with their own bodies. You lot were probably fine because you're human. The Mountain God likes humans, you see."
"...Likes humans, but demands them as sacrifices?"
Hearing the biting sarcasm from the side, the leader could only avoid our gaze, unable to answer.
The leader, who seemed to have his own thoughts about the sacrifices, remained silent until the end.
The other hunters didn't reproach him either.
They probably all felt the same way deep down, even if they couldn't say it out loud.
"...Would it be alright if I examine that for a moment?"
"Examine?"
To change the atmosphere.
And to satisfy my personal intellectual curiosity, I turned my attention to the totem.
The leader looked displeased at the word "examine," but when I explained I'd just touch it briefly, he nodded with a remaining look of reluctance.
"...If that's all."
With permission granted, I approached the totem.
When I finally placed my hand on it, I saw the source of power contained within.
The entity breathing power into the totems erected throughout this vast mountain range, using the land as a medium, was none other than the land itself.
Definitely stronger than a corps commander...
Probably even Cthulhu wouldn't be a match. As I shuddered at this fragment of immense power, I thought:
The true identity of the Mountain God must be an elemental spirit.